The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-01-26

doubly need cheerfulness within. Smiles
and laughter drive away all the dark
shadows in iiffy and these smiles and
laughter are cheap and can be had for
the asking.
FooT-RoT in sheep, distemper in
horses and cattle, cough in pigs and a
score of other ailments arise from filthy
barn-yards in winter and spring Pre-
vention is better than cure in these
cases.
IT is beyond dispute that on certain
soils gypsum causes largely increased
growth of grass and clover, but expert
ment alone appears capable of deter
mining on what soils it is likely to be
thus beneficial.
SALTING regularly is one very i'm
portant matter in the dairy. Where
cows have not received enough of salt,
and then change to regulate sailing is
practiced, a great change both in guam
tity and quality of milk can be noticed.
MANY farmers put off fattening time
till late in the autumn, or till winter has
actually set in. This is unwise. Warm
weather is the profitable time to make
gain in our animals, and then we are
lChbJ w liNN uNN VI lhC uNIithu'
TIE blood of pure breed and of
what we term native seems to blend
more tremendously than the blood of
two distinct breeds. Will some one
who knows explain the cause?' asks an
exchange, but we guess that nobody
knows.
IN poultry-keeping culling is a mat
! ter of greater importance than is gen
orally supposed. To draft and select
flock so as to bring it to the highest
perfection and profit requires greater
skill than is possessed by most poultry
keepers.
TIE last month or so of pigs life
| has great influence upon the flesh of
the animal. You can put on the frame
all through the year, but the flavor is
largely determined by the feeding dur
ing the latter period of fattening. The
same is true of all animals.
OF all the crops raised corn requires
the largest amount of phosphoric acid,
100 bushels with slower abstracting
from the soil sixty-four pounds, while
potatoes and tobacco take from the
soil large amount of potash, 600 BUSH
els of potatoes abstracting 2l9 pounds.
THE receipts of the Bay State fair
were sufficient to pay all premiums in
full ($12,50O and all expenses, and
leave a surplus of several thousand
dollars in the treasury. The guarantee
fund rendered by the Massachusetts
Society for Promoting Agriculture was
not drawn upon.
DON'T shut yourself up by yourself
within the walls of your own room,
trying to take comfort and enjoy life
alone and in selfshness. 1t can't be
done. Mingle with the world Visit
and be visited! Give and received As
sist others and accept assistance BE
kind and forbearing!
THE dairyman who buys bic COW,
! giving little mess of milk, for the sake
of her heavy weight as basis for beef
at the termination of her usefulness, is
| like manufacturer who buys big
steam engine for doing little work
for the sake of having heavy weight
of old iron to sell when the engine is
done with.
AN exchange truly says that even
! the Brahma, so well endowed with de-
| sirable characteristics, is not perfect.
! IL 10 SlON III ClulHSN anu
less in the hands of an experienced per-
son soon becomes too fat to lay, while
the heavy feathering of the legs is
serious encumbrance in damp weather
on heavy soils.
SOME people imagine that farming
requires very little outlay of brain
power; but this is great mistake. 81
honestly believe" said one who is
himself successful agriculturist, that
the farmer who will work his brains till
noon, and his hands the balance of the
day, will outstrip him who rises at five
and tolls till nine at night"
THE criticism of the Notwithstanding
bureau of the department of agri-
culture at Washington has been fea-
ture of the agricultural press for years
The Rural NeW Yorker has taken it up
again and proposes to make it feature
of that Journal for 1887. We heartily
commend the efforts of our contem-
porary and others in this direction.
THE decrease in litigation is one of
the gratifying signs of the times. 1t
is not in the large controversies, which
are generally conducted by men of
wealth, that this decrease is most no.
ticeable. There are far fewer trivial
suits brought in smaller courts than
there were a few years ago. The
grange has helped in this good work.
As the Shorthorn is bred for beef.
the Jersey for batter and the Ayrshire
and Dutch for milk, so are the breeds
of fowls bred for certain results, but as
the remarkable cows secure high records
only when given the most careful al
tention, it requires equal care and judi
cious management to secure the OBJ
jects sought from the breed of fowls
selected
Mr.. f. b. DOUGLASS, Shoreham, VT.
has for the past ten or fifteen years
been gathering and building up herd
of dairy cows that are a credit both to
the owner and to the state. He reports
that last year his entire herd of thirty
cows yielded an average of three hun
dred pounds of butter each, which is
remarkable amount for so large a
number.
Do not expect to make fortune off
of your cows the first year you are en-
gagged in the business. Be diligent,
persevering, careful and regular in all
matters pertaining to the business, and
you will succeed. The farmer who de-
votes himself to the dairy business,